It’s hard to believe that the barn owl (Tyto alba), the most widely distributed owl over our entire globe, is struggling here in Pennsylvania and in many other states. In fact, in 2020 only 45 known pairs were breeding in Pennsylvania. Please note that barn owls are probably the most nocturnal of all our owl species and there could be a few more, but …

The barn owls did well when there were many small dairy farms throughout the state. Those “old” dairy farms had many pastures for grazing the animals, meaning hay fields and fallow fields aplenty. In addition, the old plank barns offered openings for the owls to get into the rafter areas or hay lofts where they nested. And most critically, these farms offered the owls their favorite food, meadow voles (meadow mice). Then add in the mice and occasional rats around the barn yards and corn cribs, and they did well.

Today, many of those small farms are no longer. Urban and suburban sprawl has gobbled up many of them because that land was ideal to build homes, town houses or warehouses. But our need for milk and meat products has led to farmers becoming much more efficient with growing crops. Crops are harvested cleanly and stored in modern silos. Herbicide and pesticide use has increased, and for us, the limited tillable land is still able to produce enough food for our growing human population.

Today’s farms look much different as well. Steel-sheathed barns and storage building have replaced the bank barns, and few places are available for owls to nest. The old farms also had fence rows separating the fields, and the owls could nest in a cavity or a snapped-off large tree.

What can we do? The Pennsylvania Game Commission has barn owl nest box plans available on its website pgc.pa.gov. Click on “Get Involved” under the “Information and Resources” tab. Then go to “Wildlife Home Plans.” I’m sure if you are computer savvy you can find barn owl box plans elsewhere as well.

The key here is to get as many boxes mounted so that the wandering owls, in a year or two, can locate and utilize them. If you know a local farmer, they would probably relish the thought of having the terrific “mousers” around, and may even help attach them to one of their structures. Ideally, the owls need about 100 acres of suitable habitat to get enough food. With each owl devouring three or four mice a night and then catching more for their young, wow, what a difference they will make.

In my lifetime, I was aware of the owls nesting in a church steeple near Phifer’s Corner in Franklin Township, the church steeple at Zion United Church of Christ in Lehighton, and an abandoned silk mill on the south side of Lehighton. The young owls will travel to find new nesting areas. One of my students (around 1979) found a dead barn owl in Lehighton. It had a leg band and I returned it to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was banded in Clinton, New Jersey, two years earlier. Here is what you can do if you find a dead, leg banded bird: call 800-327-2263 or go to the website reportband.gov.

I would love to hear from anyone who thinks they know of these imperiled owls nesting in our area. Let me know and I could report any findings to the game commission. Thanks. So, get out there and enjoy the variety of wildlife and habitat we have in this Times News region.

Test Your Outdoor Knowledge: What other bird of prey’s population has dropped from our changing farming habits? A. great horned owl; B. Cooper’s hawk; C. American kestrel; D. red-tailed hawk.

Last Week’s Trivia Answer: When a black bear in autumn feeds heavily to add fat for the winter denning time, it is call hyperphagia.

From last week’s column, the raptor perched on the ice was a juvenile bald eagle. (No white head and tail until 5 years of age.)

Email Barry Reed at breed71@gmail.com